1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the construction of a snowmobile. More particularly, the present invention concerns the construction of a bottom pan for the snowmobile.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional snowmobile 10 of the type manufactured by Bombardier Inc. of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The snowmobile 10 includes a body 12 having a front end 14 and a rear end 16. A seat 18 is positioned at the rear end 16 of the snowmobile 10 above a tunnel 20, which is an inverted, U-shaped structure. The tunnel 20 is positioned above an endless track 22 that is disposed on a rear suspension 24. The endless track 22 is a flexible band that travels on the rear suspension 24 to propel the snowmobile 10. The endless track 22 is operatively connected to an engine 26, which is disposed toward the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10.
Two skis 28 are suspended at the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10 from a front suspension 30. The front suspension 30 includes, among other elements, a leg 32 with a trailing arm 34 connected thereto. The trailing arm 34 is connected to the body 12 of the snowmobile 10 through a pivot 36 so that the trailing arm 34 may pivot up and down relative to the snowmobile body 12 as the snowmobile 10 travels over the ground 38.
The skis 28 are operatively connected to a steering handlebar 40 disposed in front of the seat 18. As the steering handlebar 40 is turned from right to left, the skis 28 turn accordingly. In this manner, the snowmobile 10 may be steered through the snow on which it travels. A windshield 42 is disposed forwardly of the steering handlebar 40 to deflect wind from the rider positioned on the seat 18.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the snowmobile 10 also includes a front bumper 44, which is disposed at the front end 14. The bumper 44 typically incorporates or forms a handle so that the rider may lift the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10. Similarly, the skis 28 also include handles 46 that permit the rider to lift the skis 28 from the snow, when necessary.
During use, snowmobiles 10 often get stuck in the snow on which they are traveling. This occurs most frequently in deep snow. There are at least two reasons why a snowmobile may become stuck in deep snow. In the first instance, natural snow frequently includes depressions or holes in which the snowmobile 10 may become “trapped” such that it cannot power itself out. In the second instance, if a rider applies too much power to the endless track 22, in some cases, the snowmobile 10 may not move forward but, instead, may “dig” itself into the snow, creating a hole or depression from which the snowmobile 10 cannot escape under its own propulsive power. In either case, the rider must dismount from the snowmobile 10 and lift the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10 from its position in the snow. Sometimes, it is also necessary for the rider to lift the rear end of the snowmobile 10 from the snow. Accordingly, a handle 48 often is included at the rear of the snowmobile 10 for this purpose.
Getting caught in a hole or depression (whether naturally occurring or made by the operation of the snowmobile 10) is but one reason for which handles 44, 46, 48 are provided on the conventional snowmobile 10.
Snowmobiles 10 are often carried in the back of a truck or on a trailer and are often stored in garages when not in use. Since snowmobiles 10 are designed to be as light in weight as possible, they may be moved around by riders with some degree of ease, even when they are not operating under their own propulsive power. What this means is that the average rider may lift at least a portion of the front end 14 or the rear end 16 of a snowmobile 10, using one of the handles 44, 46, 48, so that the snowmobile 10 may be properly positioned in the rear of a truck, on a trailer, or in a corner of a garage.
In addition, the turning radius of a snowmobile 10 is usually quite large by comparison with wheeled vehicles such as all terrain vehicles (“ATVs”) or automobiles. As a result, when turning a snowmobile 10 in a confined space, it is sometimes necessary for a rider to dismount from the snowmobile 10, lift the front end 14 and/or rear end 16, and redirect the snowmobile 10 so that it does not strike any obstacles within its path. Sometimes, due to the large turning radius of the snowmobile 10, it is necessary to manually position the snowmobile 10 (using the handles 44, 46, 48) simply to get the vehicle pointed in the right traveling direction.
Several kinds of snowmobiles 10 are known to exist. Some are designed for racing use. Others are designed for all-around trail use. Still others are designed for use in wooded areas and, as such, as referred to as “utility snowmobiles.” Since utility snowmobiles are often driven into wooded areas, and since such snowmobiles also have a large turning radius (like all snowmobiles), occasionally, the turning radius of the vehicle is not sufficient for the snowmobile to avoid a tree or other natural obstacle. Accordingly, as discussed above, it is necessary for the rider to dismount from the snowmobile and manually correct the travel direction of the vehicle. The design of a conventional utility snowmobile is much like the snowmobile 10. As such, reference to the snowmobile 10 will be understood to encompass the components of a utility snowmobile for purposes of the discussion herein.
In the case of the utility snowmobile, the front bumper 44 typically is positioned a small distance from the outside, upper edge of a bottom pan 50 so that the rider may slide his or her fingers between the front bumper 44 and the bottom pan 50. In this manner, the front bumper 44 forms a handle that is easily grasped by the rider when standing at the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10.
In other prior art examples of utility snowmobiles (not illustrated), the bumper 44 was designed to extend from the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10 to the rear end 54 of the bottom pan 50. So constructed, the bumper 44 was a rigid element, connected to the frame 12, that extended around the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10. In other words, the bumper 44 was a large U-shaped member that extended from one side of the snowmobile 10 to the other. As a result, the rider could grasp the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10 at any location to lift the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10 and reposition the vehicle during use. While this design proved to be immensely practical, it was not aesthetically attractive.
In every prior art snowmobile, the bumper 44 and the handles 46 were the only locations where a rider could grasp the front end 14 of the snowmobile 10 and lift it from the snow. If the rider tried to lift the vehicle by any of the fairing elements surrounding the engine 26, because the fairing elements typically were made of a light weight plastic, there was a good likelihood that the rider might crack or break the fairing elements. In the past, the fairing elements were designed to withstand a lifting force.
As would be appreciated by those skilled in the art and also by the snowmobile rider, a majority of the weight of the snowmobile 10 is located at the front end 14 of the vehicle. This is due to the fact that the engine 26 is positioned at the front end 14 of the vehicle. Since most of the weight of the vehicle is at the front end 14, it is important to provide as many lifting points at the front end 14 of the vehicle as possible. For aesthetic reasons, it is also important to design the lifting points so that they do not diminish the overall appearance of the vehicle.
FIG. 2 shows the construction of one prior art bottom pan 50. The bottom pan 50, which is one of the fairing elements of the snowmobile 10, has a front end 52 and a rear end 54. The front end 52 of the bottom pan 50 is designed such that the front bumper 44 extends forwardly thereof. In the drawing, the conventional bottom pan 50 is shown with a front portion 56, a left side portion 58 and a right side portion 60. The left and right side portions 58, 60 are integrally molded together with the front portion 56. As shown, the front, left side and right side portions 56, 58, 60 are provided with a plurality of holes 62 at an interior periphery thereof. The holes 62 are provided so that the bottom pan 50 may be connected to the engine cradle of the snowmobile 10. Once assembled, the bottom pan 50 prevents snow from entering the engine compartment, thereby protecting the engine 26.
In the conventional snowmobile 10, because the bottom pan 50 is constructed as a single unit including the front portion 56, the left side portion 58 and the right side portion 60, if the bottom pan 50 is damaged during operation, the entire bottom pan 50 must be replaced. As a result, the snowmobile owner incurs a high expense when replacing the bottom pan 50.
In view of the foregoing, there are two deficiencies identified in the prior art for which a solution is desired. In the first instance, there is a desire for the construction of a snowmobile that provides lifting locations at the front end of the vehicle. As indicated, this permits the rider to pull the snowmobile from the snow or to manually correct the travel direction of the snowmobile. In the second instance, there is a desire for the construction of the bottom pan of a snowmobile to minimize the replacement cost of that fairing element.